Chart of the week

Namibians tend to lean towards the conservative side on some of the world's most controversial issues, according to Afrobarometer surveys.

Namibians are most decisive on mandatory child vaccination (such as for measles or polio), with only 1% holding a neutral stance. Nearly three in four believe it should be mandatory, while a quarter think it should be the parents' choice.

Two-thirds believe abortion should be penalised with prison, while just under a quarter disagree – although Namibians are more supportive of abortion if the mother's life is in danger, as opposed to abortion due to economic hardships or if the pregnancy occurred due to assault. Namibians are least supportive if there is no clear reason, i.e. the mother decides to for any reason whatsoever.

Roughly six in ten Namibians would be rejecting if their friend or relative came out as homosexual, with less than a quarter stating they would be accepting. However, a notable portion are neutral or undecided on this (18%).

Only 34% support lowering the minimum voting age to 16 despite substantially lower voter turnout among the youth, while 60% prefer keeping it at 18.

Opinions on the death penalty are the most evenly split, with 46% believing it is justified in cases of serious crimes, while just over half of Namibians oppose it entirely.

One in five believe the economic and political influence of Namibia's former colonial powers is negative, compared to 48% who believe it is positive – although a significant portion hold a neutral stance (31%).

Nearly two-thirds oppose protectionist measures and support easier access to international trade to create economic opportunities. Just over one-third of Namibians support limiting trade to protect local producers.

A quarter of Namibians believe men make better political leaders and should be elected over women, while nearly three in four believe that women should have the same chance of being elected to political office as men.

Regarding marijuana use, 60% of Namibians believe it is never justified, compared to 38% who say it is sometimes or always justified.

Lastly, 42% of Namibians believe that prostitution is never justified, compared to 54% who believe it is sometimes or always justified.

Namibian opinions on some controversial topics closely align with African averages (from countries where the 2024 survey rounds are complete), although they remain considerably more conservative than those in some of Africa's more developed economies, such as Mauritius and Morocco.